


Dreamt of You Amidst the Flowers

by liar_iago



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, flowershop au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-22 08:37:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3722302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liar_iago/pseuds/liar_iago
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of one who has forgotten and one who yearns to be remembered. </p><p>Tsukishima agrees to help plan the wedding of a close friend, but the strange little flower shop in Tokyo he finds himself in has more in store for him than he may have bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dreamt of You Amidst the Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> whoaaaaa tsukiaka!! i love this ship, love love loooove it!! this is going to be another multi-chapter project... i'm on spring break, so hopefully i'll have updates soon. 
> 
> this is for everyone in the fam!! yall have been waitin on this one for a while now lmfao and a special thanks to shi for helping me out with the title!! taken from daydream by wallace collection
> 
> enjoy!

In Kei’s experience, town meetings amounted to nothing more than a way of punishing everyone involved for choosing to live in that particular area.

Yamaguchi laughed when Kei told him this as they made their way to the cafe where the meetings were regularly held.

“You say that every time.”

“And every time we end up with the short end of the stick,” insisted Kei. “Last month they made us paint an entire banner for the new noodle house that was opening, remember?”

“Well, we are technically artists,” said Yamaguchi.

“Yeah, the kind who stab people for a living,” said Kei flatly. “I’ve never touched a paintbrush in my life.”  

“Relax, would you? It’s all in good fun,” said Yamaguchi.

Kei was ready to grumble about how he seemed to be the only one not having any fun, but changed his mind after deciding it wasn’t worth risking one of Yamaguchi’s “chill out” looks.

The cafe was already full by the time they arrived, and the owner greeted them each with a mug of tea.

“Glad you could make it,” said Sugawara, who was also the unanimously elected leader of discussion for town meetings.

(Tsukishima actually voted for himself every year, but no one took him seriously these days.)

“Sorry we’re late,” said Yamaguchi. “We were with a customer.”

“Oh? What did they get?”

“A giant fire-breathing dragon across their back,” said Kei. He wished he was kidding.

“Lovely. Well, now that we’re all here, let’s get started so we can finish up sooner,” said Sugawara, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. “As I’m sure we all know by now, Kiyoko-san and Yacchan from the antiques store announced their engagement a few days ago…”

Cheers broke out among the townspeople, and Kei joined in with some light applause. He had every right to grump about getting dragged into town meetings, but he could still be happy for his friends.

“Now, since they wanted the ceremony to be a small one, they’ve opted out of hiring a professional wedding planner, so I volunteered to help out instead!” said Sugawara, and no one was surprised. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to do everything on my own, so I was hoping to recruit some help at today’s town meeting.”

Kei opted out of applauding this time in favor of sighing heavily.

“Rest assured that this is not mandatory,” said Sugawara, and Kei swore he looked directly at him for a split second before continuing. “Does anyone have anything to contribute?”

The cafe erupted into scattered dialogue.  

“We’ll handle the cake and other desserts, of course,” said Oikawa from the bakery around the corner.

“Ryuu and I can set up the platforms and stuff,” said Nishinoya from the construction company.

“I know a parent who’s good with decorations,” said Asahi, a teacher at the nearby day care center. “I could talk to her.”

“Wonderful!” said Sugawara, pen moving swiftly across his notepad. “This takes care of the majority of our duties, except for just a couple more...does anyone know where we might find a florist?”

“It’s a little out of the way, but I’ve got a friend from college who owns a flower shop in Tokyo,” said Daichi, the local high school volleyball club coach. “I’ve got my hands full with tourney season, though, so you might have to send someone else to get in touch with him.”

“Is there anyone who has some free time on their hands?” said Sugawara.

It took less than a minute for all eyes to land on Kei and Yamaguchi.

“Sorry, our schedule’s packed,” said Kei. “Indefinitely.”

“Um,” said Yamaguchi, as he tended to do when put on the spot.

“You guys are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” pointed out Ennoshita from the books and art supplies store.

“Doesn’t mean we’re not working,” returned Kei.

“Tsukishima, it would be really great if you and Yamaguchi could help us out with this,” said Sugawara with a gentle smile. “It’ll only take a couple of trips…”

“If you want flowers, we can give them to you in ink,” said Kei. “Five thousand yen flat for a single.”

“Tsukishima--”

“Twenty thousand for a sleeve,” Kei continued without breaking eye contact. “Seven thousand an hour for a full-back bouquet.”

Sugawara sighed. “You really don’t want to do this, do you?”

“Is it that obvious?” said Kei.

“Jeez, Tsukishima, what do you have against being a nice person?” said Tanaka.

“Nothing,” said Kei. “I do have a lot to say about the fact that I know nothing about flowers.”

“Well, I’m sure the owner of the shop could help you with that,” said Sugawara, looking to Daichi for affirmation.

“He’s been in the business for a good few years now,” said Daichi. “He’ll know what to do. All you’d have to do is put in the orders.”

Sugawara turned to Kei with a dazzling smile, and Kei knew he’d lost.

-:-

Tuesday was quick to arrive and even quicker to turn sour.

The call came early in the morning, wrenching Kei from a dream whose contents he forgot immediately upon raising his head, only to realize the noise wasn’t coming from his phone.

“Hey,” he called across the room over the chorus of some obnoxious pop idol song. “Yamaguchi! Wake up and answer your damn phone.”

A hand slithered out from beneath the pile of blankets atop Yamaguchi’s bed and snatched his cell phone from the desk.

“‘Lo,” Yamaguchi mumbled.

Kei couldn’t decipher what the caller was saying, but he could tell the voice belonged to Yamaguchi’s mother, which made it difficult for him to go back to sleep. He wasn’t inherently of a pessimistic disposition, but he knew for a fact that Yamaguchi’s mother was the type to text good news and call in bad news.

Sure enough, Yamaguchi sat up a little straighter and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as his mother continued talking, and he ended the call after telling her, “I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Everything all right?” said Kei.

“Dad’s sick and Mom has work, so she asked me to go in and watch over him for a bit,” said Yamaguchi. “Sorry, Tsukki.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Kei.

“Are you still going to go to Tokyo?”

The early morning chill nipped at Kei’s arms and ankles as he crawled out of bed, and the mention of Tokyo hardly served to warm him up. The clock glared 7:36 A.M. at him in bright, mean red.

“The appointment’s already been made. Might as well.”

“Car keys are on the kitchen counter.”

“I think I’ll take the train.”

Yamaguchi raised an eyebrow. “It’s supposed to rain today.”

“You know how I hate driving,” said Kei. “I’ll take the umbrella.”

-:- 

Kei was stepping through entrance to _NekoFukuro Flowers_  in Tokyo two hours later when the downpour began and he realized he had forgotten the umbrella.

“Welcome!” The voice came from behind what Kei assumed to be the service counter, only it was covered entirely in two-foot cardboard boxes stacked atop each other in threes.

“Hello,” Kei said to the box nearest to where he had heard the voice. It was marked _FRAGILE_ in bright blue ink.

“Yeah, sorry about the mess. Give me a minute,” said the voice, and from behind the boxes came the sound of footsteps shuffling and items being shifted across the linoleum floor.

Kei ran his gaze idly across the displays in the store as he waited and concluded that calling the place a “mess” was a bit of an understatement. There were boxes like the ones on the counter in every corner of the store, and any space that wasn’t taken by a box was occupied by flowers.

Large, bright blooms tied together in bouquets crowded the shelves and patterned vases holding elegant arrangements lined the walls. There were flowers packed into crates sitting in row upon row in one section of the store, splashes of red and yellow and pink swaying gently against each other underneath ceiling fan. Yet despite the (extremely) close quarters, the flowers were clearly well maintained, as Kei saw hardly a withered petal, and the air was fresh and light.

“So what are you looking for?” asked the employee as he continued working his way out of the mountain of boxes on the counter.

“A consultation,” said Kei. “I had an appointment.”

“Ah, you’re the ten o’clock! Cool, cool, just let me…”

Kei jumped slightly as the tower of boxes at the far end of the counter tipped over abruptly onto the employee, drawing a yelp out of him.

“Are you all right?” said Kei, though he wasn’t eager to approach the counter himself to check.

A man in his twenties with dark eyes and a mess of black hair dug his way out of the heap of cardboard and dust and directed a lopsided grin at Kei. “Perfectly fine! There’s nothing super heavy in these boxes, thankfully.”

“Your hair is a little…”

“Oh, it’s always like this,” said the employee, smoothing a hand over the uneven spikes. They leapt right back up, and he gave up with a shrug. “Well, anyway, I’m Kuroo Tetsurou. Thanks for coming by.”

Kei took the offered hand and earned himself a firm, somewhat jarring handshake. “Tsukishima Kei. I guess I’m going to be here a lot over the next few weeks.”

“Don’t worry, this’ll be a real easy process. Come on back.” Kuroo opened the door to the staff area and Kei followed him in.

The next breath Kei exhaled misted in the air front of him, and it took him a bit of effort to refrain from shivering.

“Sorry about the chill,” said Kuroo. “We have to keep storage cool for the flowers. The staff room is warmer.”

“It’s fine,” said Kei. “Do you do a lot of weddings?”

“I’ve done a couple, but I’ve got a guy who does them really well. He’s the one you’ll be spending most of your time with here.”

The next door Kuroo opened was labelled “Lounge,” and the warm air that floated over Kei as he stepped inside made his skin tingle. There was only one other person in the room, seated at the large table in the center and weaving what appeared to be a set of flower bracelets. Little blue flowers with round petals and yellow centers were scattered about the table. Kei swore he’d seen them many times before, but the name eluded him.

“Yo, Akaashi,” greeted Kuroo. “Brought your ten o’clock.”

The bracelet weaver looked up. “Hello,” he said, and Kei’s breath caught briefly in his throat.

Akaashi had slanted, heavy-lidded eyes and long, thick lashes that seem to flutter when he glanced down briefly at the half-finished bracelet in his hand and continued working. His jawline was smooth and his skin was fair, making his short black hair stand out, and his lips were thin and pale.

There was something remarkably attractive about the way it all came together on him.

“Hi,” Kei said, which was about the best he could do at the moment.  

“This is Tsukishima-san,” said Kuroo.

“Just Tsukishima is fine,” said Kei, and Akaashi nodded in acknowledgement.

“Akaashi Keiji. You wanted to make an order for a wedding, right?” Akaashi spoke slowly and evenly, his voice bordering on monotone. It was a far cry from the emphatic friendliness with which Kuroo addressed him, but there was also a strangely serene quality about it that Kei couldn’t quite place.

Kuroo ducked out of the room with a quiet “see you later,” leaving Kei painfully aware of Akaashi’s direct, unabashed gaze on him.

Akaashi indicated the seat next to him, and Kei joined him at the table and tried not to think about the fact that their elbows were almost touching.

“Where are you from, Tsukishima?” Akaashi asked as he carefully brushed aside the little blue flowers before reaching across the table and pulling a large catalogue towards him.  

“Miyagi.”

“And the wedding will take place there as well?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you have a budget?”

Kei handed Akaashi a slip of paper detailing the budget and other conditions for the order, which Sugawara had written up and delivered to Kei and Yamaguchi two days after the town meeting. Akaashi read the memo quite thoroughly--and possibly several times over, as nearly five minutes passed (five minutes Kei spent using all of his willpower not to squirm in his seat like a teenager) before he looked up again .

“This is good. We’ll make decent progress today,” said Akaashi. He opened the catalogue. “Let’s start with the selection, then.”

“I don’t really know anything about flowers,” said Kei.

“It’s fine. Just point out anything that catches your eye,” said Akaashi. He turned a few pages. “These are our carnations. They're usually quite popular.”

Kei didn't have a specific aversion to pink, but he wasn't sure what to do besides nod and try not to squint at the array of shockingly vivid blossoms. Shimizu and Yachi weren’t terribly into pink, either, and he doubted they would appreciate such an obnoxious display at their wedding.

"Uh...they're kind of bright," he said.

Akaashi gave him a small smile and moved on to another page. “Something more subtle, then. We have these in white.”

The flowers on this page were large and round, with layers upon layers of flat, tightly packed petals. “Camellias?”

“You recognize these flowers?”

“I get a lot of requests for them,” said Kei. “Flowers like roses, violets, chrysanthemums…”

“And these requests are for…?”

“Oh--I run a tattoo parlor with my friend,” explained Kei, feeling his face grow hot. If he’d known he was going to embarrass himself, he wouldn’t have opened his mouth in the first place.

Akaashi raised his eyebrows. “Interesting. Did you do that yourself?” he asked, pointing at the small crescent moon on the inside of Kei’s left wrist.

It was a simple piece with no excess detail (just a single outline and a solid coloring) but it was one of Kei’s favorites, if only for its sentimental value. “It was my first work.”

“A successful one, evidently. It’s very elegant.”

Kei fidgeted with his fingers to refrain from rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks.”

Akaashi smiled at him again, a tiny tug at the corner of his lip. Kei averted his eyes for some reason.

“What do you think of the camellias, then?” said Akaashi, and Kei had to take a second to bring himself back into focus.

“They’re, uh, good,” he said, wishing he could find something more intelligent to say. “I like them.”

“Mm. We’ll put them on the ‘Maybe’ list, then,” said Akaashi. He pulled an order form out of the back of the catalogue and drew a small star in the box next to “Camellia-White.”

The two of them spent the next couple of hours searching through over seventeen selections, all of which ended up somehow on the “Maybe” list. Kei wasn’t sure whether or not to be concerned about this, as Akaashi didn’t seem to be the least bit perturbed by it. Though that might have been due to the odd, perpetually sleepy expression of his that made it difficult to determine whether he was feeling anything besides utter calm. Truthfully, Kei found it somewhat relaxing.

It was still pouring when noon rolled around, and both Kei and Akaashi surveyed the weather through the staff lounge window with frowns on their faces.

“I was initially going to suggest a few places nearby where you could find lunch, but it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to go out at this point,” said Akaashi. “I’m sure we’ll have something for you in the fridge.”

“Sorry. I would have brought something if I knew the appointment was going to run this long,” said Kei.  

Akaashi merely replied, “You might want to move away from the door.”

Kei complied, but before he could ask about it, the door crashed open with enough force to knock a fully grown adult off their feet. Kei couldn’t help but be a little proud of himself for managing to hold back the yelp that leapt up into his throat. From beside him, Akaashi didn’t so much as flinch.

A man with outrageously spiked hair bounded into the room and dropped a boxed lunch onto the table with a triumphant grin.

“All right, lunch time!” he announced, following it up with an exuberant, booming laugh.  

“Try to keep it down, Bokuto-san,” said Akaashi. “You’re frightening my customer.”  

“Oh--my bad,” said Bokuto, turning to Kei with an apologetic smile and holding out his hand. “I’m Bokuto Koutaro. You’re the guy from Miyagi, right? Kuroo told me about you.”

Kei made the mistake of accepting the handshake.

Bokuto crushed his fingers to the point of instant bruising in a monstrously powerful grip, and Kei would have been convinced that he was purposely trying to tear his hand off if it weren’t for his earnest expression. Bokuto let him off, thankfully, with a single pump that made his teeth clack together.

“So how’s the flower-picking going?”

“We’re about a third of the way through,” said Akaashi, opening the refrigerator and leaning down to examine it.

From what Kei could see, it was empty but for a few energy drinks and what appeared to be a single bowl of rice.

“Wasn’t there half a platter of sandwiches in here from yesterday’s movie night?” said Akaashi, blinking a few times as if he was convinced he’d missed it somehow.

“Yeah,” said Bokuto through a mouthful of fried noodles (Kei hadn’t even seen him sit down). “I ate them this morning. Were you saving them?”

Akaashi grimaced and closed the refrigerator. “You ate seven egg salad sandwiches in one sitting?”  

“Well, Kuroo had a couple, too.”

“Bokuto-san,” said Akaashi, but instead of continuing he let out a small sigh. “It’s all right. We’ll figure something out.”

“Sorry,” said Bokuto. His expression grew troubled, and Akaashi’s eyes widened marginally in alarm.

“Don’t worry about it,” Akaashi said quickly. “We can just head out when the rain lets up.”

“ _Or_ , you could just hang out here and have some of the stuff I brought.”

They turned towards the doorway to see Kuroo strolling into the lounge, toting a bag full of boxed food in his hand. “I figured you guys would be here for a while, so I went ahead and grabbed some lunch while the rain was still light.”

“How thoughtful,” said Akaashi. “Thank you, Kuroo-san.”

“Got some for you too, Bokuto,” said Kuroo as he and Akaashi laid out an assortment of soups and rice bowls. “That one box is never enough for you.”

Bokuto looked up, all signs of gloom disappearing from his expression. “Hey, thanks!”

“You too, Tsukishima,” said Kuroo. “Customer gets first pick.”

“You didn’t have to...” began Kei.

“Well, we’re not doing it for free. In exchange for lunch, you’re gonna have to tell us a little about yourself,” said Kuroo with a toothy grin that reminded Kei vaguely of the Cheshire Cat. “Only if you’re all right with it, of course.”

Kei wasn’t sure he’d ever met someone so forward with their friendliness. “I don’t mind.”

He picked out the gyudon at the top of the pile (he wasn’t a particularly picky eater as long as you didn’t try to feed him ginger) and returned to his seat next to Akaashi.

“So, Tsukishima,” said Kuroo, “you’re a tattoo artist, right?”

Kei tried not to look too alarmed, although the amused look on Kuroo’s face indicated it was probably in vain.

“I still talk to Sawamura sometimes. He tells me about the people he hangs out with,” said Kuroo. “I’ll admit you’re not what I expected to see based on what he told me about the ‘tattooist with the bleached hair.’”

“Why? Because I’m not covered head-to-toe in ink?” Kei wanted to correct him about the hair as well--it was perfectly natural, thanks very much--but it was partially his own fault Daichi was always describing him like that, since he’d never spared the effort to correct him.

“I guess that’s part of it, on the surface,” admitted Kuroo. “It’s just that he described you as somewhat more...er, difficult to handle. Didn’t think they’d send you for a task like this.”

“I’m only difficult to handle for people who try to handle me,” said Kei. He was beyond feeling offended at this point; he knew he had a reputation for being “difficult,” and it was really none of his business who chose to believe it. “Besides, the wedding is a community effort. I was going to end up with some role or the other.”

Bokuto snorted around a mouthful of noodles, and Akaashi shook his head lightly.

“Right,” said Kuroo. He had the grace to look sheepish. “My bad.”

“So, like--” Bokuto inhaled the last of his food and reached for one of the unopened boxes at the center of the table. “What’s the weirdest request you’ve ever gotten?”

The question made Kei stop to think for a moment. No one had asked him that before, which was surprising in hindsight, especially when he considered how it came up naturally as the first thing to ask for Bokuto.

“I get a lot of weird requests. It’s hard to say.”

“Well, how about the weirdest one you’ve gotten in the past month?” said Bokuto, undeterred.

Strangely enough, the answer came to Kei almost right away.

“There was a guy who came in a couple of weeks ago. He asked for a full sleeve of different types of toilets on his right arm.”

The table was silent.

Kei took this opportunity to finally get started on his gyudon, and decided after the first bite that it was the best thing he’d had all week.

“So, you mean like...actual toilets?” said Bokuto, looking more perplexed than disturbed, with one eye scrunched and the opposite eyebrow hanging high. “Like, the stuff they put in bathrooms?”

“Do you know another meaning for the word ‘toilet?’” said Akaashi.

“So did you give him the toilets?” said Kuroo.

“I didn’t see any reason not to,” said Kei. “He was willing to pay the rates, and he even had pictures for reference.”

“Man, he really wanted those toilets,” said Bokuto.

“A fascinating fixation,” said Akaashi.

“What kind of tattoo would _you_ get?” Kuroo asked Bokuto.

“Mm...something cool,” said Bokuto, screwing his eyes shut in concentration. “Oh, I know! I would get your name on my right bicep and Akaashi’s name on my left bicep. Then I’d have you guys with me always!”

Kuroo’s mouth fell open softly, and he put a hand over his heart. “Bokuto…”

“What about you?”

“Dude, isn’t it obvious? I would get _your_ name on _my_ right bicep and Akaashi’s name on my left.”

Kei’s eyes widened, and he exchanged looks with Akaashi, who only shrugged as if to indicate that this was a regular occurrence.

“What would _you_ get, Akaashi?” said Bokuto, and both he and Kuroo directed expectant looks towards him.

Akaashi tilted his head and chewed contemplatively for a moment before swallowing. “I’m not sure. I don’t think about it much.”

“Wow,” said Bokuto softly.

“Stone cold,” muttered Kuroo.

“Maybe something with flowers,” Akaashi continued. “Subtle but colorful.”  

“I could do that,” said Kei a little too quickly.

Akaashi looked at him, but Kei looked down before he could decipher the expression on Akaashi’s face.

“We should totally go in together to get something done,” said Kuroo.

“That would be awesome!” said Bokuto. “What do you say, Akaashi? We could find something for you!”

“I have sketches and stuff,” said Kei. “If you all do decide to come by.”

“Let’s do it!” said Bokuto, and Kuroo nodded in agreement.

But Kei was looking at Akaashi, who had managed to finish his lunch at some point and had returned to weaving the flower bracelets he’d been working on previously.

“I wouldn’t mind,” said Akaashi without looking up from his project. “A tattoo could be a worthwhile investment.”

“You don’t have to come anytime soon--I mean, I know you’d probably have to think on it for a while,” said Kei, and he cursed himself for stuttering like a high schooler.

“I know,” said Akaashi, though not unkindly. He lifted a newly completed flower bracelet. “May I see your wrist?”

Kei hesitated. “Me?”

Akaashi nodded.

Kei extended his arm, and Akaashi tied the bracelet around his wrist.

“Thank you,” said Kei, looking back down at the flower bracelet, then at Akaashi’s hands hovering near his own. He curled his fingers in to avoid making awkward contact, and tried and failed again to remember the name of the flower.

Akaashi didn’t ask to have the bracelet back at any point throughout the rest of the consultation, during which he drew either stars or ‘x’s next to all of the remaining items in the catalogue, and when Kei offered to return it as Akaashi saw him to the shop’s exit, Akaashi shook his head.

“You should keep it,” he said. “It’s been treated with preservatives, so it will last for the next two weeks. I’m sure we’ll see each other again before then.”

“For the next appointment,” Kei felt the need to add.

Akaashi gave him that small smile--the one that made him want to look away, but he managed to fight it this time and hold his gaze. The rain had finally let up at some point, and the mid-afternoon sun shined fiercely, as if to make up for all the hours it had spent hidden behind the clouds. Its white rays filtered through the windows of the shop and landed on Akaashi in such a way that his fair skin seemed to turn translucent. His hair glowed like a dark halo over his head, and his long, thick lashes seemed to glimmer every time he blinked.

“For the next appointment,” Akaashi confirmed, and Kei almost physically jolted out of his thoughts. Akaashi didn’t seem to notice, thankfully, and continued on. “In the meantime, you can take the catalogue to the wedding planner and see if they can pick out which items to confirm for the order.”

Kei nodded, fiddling with the bracelet, though he was careful not to break it. The gentle blue of the flowers’ petals bore a striking resemblance to the color of the summer sky, and suddenly the name popped into his head.

“Forget-me-nots.”

“Mm? Oh--yes, that’s right. Do you like them?”

“I...yeah. They’re nice,” said Kei. “They weren’t in the catalogue though…?”

“We actually received them from a different shop as a gift, so the supply is limited. My apologies.”

“It’s fine,” said Kei, although he couldn’t help but deflate a little. He hadn’t taken the same liking to any of the other items on the catalogue as he had the forget-me-nots.

“Should I call in before I come down again?”

“I’m sure you won’t have to. Just drop by whenever you’re ready.”

Akaashi held his hand out, and it took Kei an embarrassing several seconds to realize his intentions.

The handshake they shared was the first normal one of the day, but Kei was too distracted to appreciate that aspect of it. Akaashi’s skin was cool and dry, and his hands were smaller than Kei’s, but he had a firm and friendly grip. Kei was painfully aware of Akaashi’s thumb pressing gently against the back of his hand, and he didn’t realize how hard his grip had become until Akaashi cleared his throat. He released his hold immediately and changed his mind about putting his hands behind his back at the last second so he didn’t look like a child.

“Sorry,” he said.

“That’s all right,” said Akaashi, not looking the least bit bothered. “See you soon.”

Kei tried not to think about how he could still feel Akaashi's touch on the back of his hand. “Right. See you.”

-:-

Thankfully, Yamaguchi was still out when Kei got home. He took the tattoo parlor’s back entrance to avoid any unnecessary encounters and took the steps to the apartment two at a time.

Kei carefully untied the flower bracelet from his wrist and placed it gently on his bookshelf, next to an old sketchbook full of some of his first tattoo designs.

He normally threw away old sketches, especially since he found his early works bland and unimaginative, but this particular book had a design that a customer from long ago had taken a liking to and requested. There had been nothing special about the sketch as far as Kei could tell--it was a roughly drawn rufous-legged owl that Kei had seen while watching some random nature documentary on television--but the customer had been entranced with it and asked to have it done right away.

Kei had done the outline (he could no longer remember where the customer had asked for it to be placed) and then asked the customer to return later for the coloring, but they had never come back.

This had happened plenty of times before and often still did, but Kei couldn’t shake the feeling that that particular customer would be back eventually, so he’d kept the sketchbook.

The forget-me-nots almost seemed to look a little sad as Kei stepped away from the bookshelf, which was a ridiculous thought, but Kei still couldn’t help but feel bad.

 _It’s not like I’m leaving them there to rot_ , he told himself as he made his way out of the apartment. _I just don’t need people asking questions._

Of course, the bracelet had just been a harmless friendly gift, but the people in this particular town had an annoying penchant for romance and the dramatic, which really wasn’t Kei’s style, even when they were joking.

Kei arrived at Sugawara’s cafe during the after-lunch rush, and Sugawara beamed when he saw him despite looking thoroughly frazzled.

“Did you just get back from the shop? How was it?” he said, tugging Kei by the corner of his sleeve towards an empty table in the corner of the cafe.

Kei handed Sugawara the order form. “It was fine.”

“Oh, good!” Sugawara glanced through the form. “Are these stars confirmed orders?”

“They’re ‘maybes’. You can decide on the ones you want to order,” said Kei. “I’ll go back whenever you’re done to place it.”

“Tsukishima...these are all ‘maybes,’” said Sugawara.

Kei shrugged. “I told you I wasn’t good at this stuff.”

Sugawara sighed and gave Kei an exasperated smile. “Well, I suppose helping me choose wasn’t technically part of our little agreement. All right, I’ll get this form back to you in a few days. Thanks for helping out, Tsukishima.”

Kei shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

Sugawara blinked, eyes widening. “It isn’t…?”

Kei froze, knowing he’d made a mistake. “I just said that...reflexively,” he tried, but a grin was already spreading on Sugawara’s face.

“Well, this is quite the development! Could you have perhaps uncovered a long-hidden fondness for flower arrangement?”

Kei opened his mouth, ready to defend himself, before registering Sugawara’s words.

“Yep,” he said flatly. “That’s exactly it. I love flowers.”

“Bad guess, huh?” Sugawara’s smile turned smug, and Kei realized then that he’d been tricked. “Then maybe it’s a person…?”

Kei rose from his chair. “Well, I did what I came here to do. You can drop the order form off at the shop when you finish filling it out. See you.”

“Ah--hold on! I was only teasing!”

Kei rolled his eyes and left the cafe, exasperated with Sugawara’s meddling ways. Just because Akaashi was an okay guy, it didn’t mean Kei was attracted to him.

“Hey, hold on! I still need to tell you something!”

Kei paused with a sigh and waited for Sugawara to catch up to him.

“Just letting you know: I gave your cell number to--”

Kei’s heart skipped a beat--

“--Kuroo-san, the owner of the shop.”

\--and promptly sank into his stomach with a pitifully empty _plop_. Kei cursed himself for feeling unreasonably disappointed and hoped to god Sugawara didn’t notice the way his shoulders fell.

“Should I not have?” said Sugawara. “I mean, I just thought it would be easier for you if you could communicate directly instead of through me…”

“It’s fine,” said Kei. “I’ll see you later, Suga-san.”

Sugawara still looked apprehensive, but he let it go. “Go home and get some rest, then. I’ll let you know when I’m done with the order.”

Kei felt bad leaving Sugawara confused and probably a little worried, but he was too tired and preoccupied to deal with him any further.

It was getting late, and Yamaguchi would probably be home soon. Kei stopped by the store to grab some groceries, then headed home for the second time that day.

Dinner was rice with stir fry, and Yamaguchi arrived just as Kei was setting the table. They ate together in silence--it was something like a ritual for them, though Kei wasn’t sure where it had come from. They had simply agreed at some point in their friendship that there was no room for talk during mealtimes, and they’d found early on that it actually made for very companionable silent periods at the table.

It was Kei’s turn to do dishes, but Yamaguchi offered to take over as an apology for running out on him at the last minute. Kei insisted that he didn’t mind, and they ended up splitting the task, with Yamaguchi scrubbing and Kei rinsing and stacking.

“So how did it go at the flower shop?” said Yamaguchi as they worked.

“Fine,” said Kei.

“‘Fine’ as in ‘it sucked majorly because I’m grumpy and I hate everything’ or ‘fine’ as in ‘I can’t even remember half of what happened because I was too busy thinking about how much I didn’t want to be there?’” said Yamaguchi with a teasing smile.

Kei scowled. “Aren’t those two basically the same thing?”

“There are subtle differences. So?”

“Neither. It was just...fine.”

“Ahh,” said Yamaguchi as if he’d just reached some higher understanding. “So it was ‘fine’ as in ‘something unexpectedly wonderful happened and now I’m being shy about it because I have to maintain my reputation as the town grump.’”

The plate Kei was holding slipped from his fingers, and Yamaguchi snapped a hand out and caught it deftly.

“You know, you’d be a lot harder to read if you didn’t freeze up every time someone guessed something correctly about you,” said Yamaguchi. He placed the plate onto the dish rack, and the two of them continued working. “So who’d you get the flowers from?”

Kei considered holding his breath until Yamaguchi agreed to drop the subject, but he scratched the idea when he saw the earnest curiosity on his friend’s face. Even if he could manage to make him shut up temporarily about it, Yamaguchi wasn’t the type to give up easily.

“One of the people who work there,” said Kei, and he paused because he wasn’t sure what else there was to say about him. Well, actually--

_He’s ridiculously good looking, I could watch him do nothing but blink for hours, his voice makes me feel like I’m being rocked gently in a bed made of clouds--_

Nope, still nothing.

“Okay,” Yamaguchi said slowly, directing an expectant look at Kei.

Kei shrugged. “He was nice.”

“You’re not going to give me anything substantial, are you?” said Yamaguchi.

“I don’t even know anything substantial about him,” said Kei.

“That’s fair,” said Yamaguchi. “But you _are_ looking forward to seeing him again, aren’t you?”

“No,” responded Kei automatically, and Yamaguchi laughed.

“I’ll let you handle the flower shop business from here, then,” he said. “Maybe I’ll help Ennoshita-san and Asahi-san with decorations.”

“Fine,” said Kei. “That’s fine.”

Yamaguchi wiped his hands on a dry dishrag and gave Kei a pat on the shoulder. “Good night and good luck, Tsukki.”

“Good luck with _what_ ,” Kei snapped at Yamaguchi’s retreating figure, but Yamaguchi merely shrugged and waltzed into the bedroom.

Kei grumbled a few unkind words towards the ground and had half a mind to march into the room after Yamaguchi to make sure that no one would hear about this from him, but he paused when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

 _it’s kuroo from the flower shop!_ read the incoming text. _just wanted to thank you for coming by AND to let you know how to take care of your new flower bracelet, since akaashi was too busy being flustered by your impeccable charm to remember._

Kei reread the last part of that sentence to make sure he’d understood it correctly, then tried to remember all of the interactions he and Akaashi had had that afternoon. At what point had Akaashi been flustered in the slightest? If anything, Kei had been the one stuttering through every other sentence and probably turning red enough to make the roses in the display cases jealous.

Kei shook his head softly and chalked it up to Kuroo being strange--he had seemed like a rather strange person from the start, though not in an unpleasant way.

 _make sure to keep it stored in a cool, dry place!_  the message continued. _the fridge works, or just any dark corner in a room. we look forward to seeing you again soon!_

Kei wondered briefly if the bracelet would be all right on his bookshelf, then decided to play it safe and move it.

Thankfully, Yamaguchi was in the shower when Kei stepped into the bedroom, so there were no more unnecessary questions and sly looks as he picked the bracelet up from the shelf and placed it behind an old music box on his dresser.

Kei opened the text again to compose a reply.

_I’ll take care of the bracelet. Please tell Akaashi-san I said thank you and that I look forward to seeing him for the next appointment._

As soon as he finished typing, Kei erased the message and started over.

_Thank you for letting me know._

He sent the message before he could erase it again and replace it with something even shorter, then put his phone in silent mode and placed it face-down on his desk with no intention of picking it up until tomorrow morning. Not wanting to put himself at risk of falling asleep while he waited for Yamaguchi to finish showering (he always felt wretched in the morning if he didn’t shower the night before), he pulled out a sketchbook and let his mind wander as he jotted down some patterns.

As per usual, his thoughts went straight to the mystery customer with the incomplete owl, and as it went every time he tried, Kei simply couldn’t remember a single thing about them, whether it was their appearance, their voice, or their name.

The only thing that changed this time was that afterwards, when Kei looked down at his sketchbook, it wasn’t his typical mindless, droll patterns that he saw. It was Akaashi, eyes bright and expression serene, looking back up at him.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> hey, hey!! thanks for readin!! hope you liked it


End file.
